A POOLE theatre was evacuated this afternoon after an electrical fault caused a small fire.

Staff and visitors were forced to evacuate Lighthouse in Kingland Road after alarms began sounding at 3.50pm.

Firefighters from Poole attended, but a second call was then received to say there was smoke inside the building, and a second appliance from Westbourne was mobilised.

Upon arrival, crews discovered a small fire in a ground-floor electrical cupboard involved the power supply.

This was extinguished by firefighters wearing breathing sets, and a thermal imaging camera was used to check for further hot spots.

A spokesperson from the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: "The cause of the fire was electrical, and damage was confined to the electrical unit with smoke damage to the property."